Van Morrison in New York CIty 4/29/07

Great Van show at the Theatre at Madison Square Garden. I was there with my pal DJ Wilbur who has this to say about the show. I pretty much concur

DJ Wilbur's Van Morrison review

I saw a killer Van Morrison show last night at the Theatre at Madison Square Garden. Whenever you see Van and the tickets say 7:30 sharp….be there on time. His “orchestra” came on stage at 7:30 and vamped to “Train Kept a Rolling” and then at 7:35 out came the man in the hat in mighty fine voice hitting us with “Talk Is Cheap” and I’m thinking, strange choice for an opener, he must be in a grumpy mood and its not gonna be a phenomenal show…so he turns his back to the stage and he starts pointing to musicians to take solos during this and he’s liking what he hears cause as I’m a bit on the side, I see him with a big ole grin on his face and I know this is gonna now be a great show…

Set list

Talk Is Cheap

Not Feeling It Anymore

Stranded (with Van on the Sax)

Have I Told You Lately That I Love You (completely re-arranged, it was no longer a ballad, not sure it worked really)

There Stands The Glass

Playhouse

Next Van spoke to the audience and said the next song was a special request from Vincent Pastore, (who plays Sal “Big Pusy” Bonpensiero on the Soprano’s) who I spotted in the audience near me prior to the show starting. He Requested:

The Philosphers Stone (quite the highlight this one)

Don’t You make Me High

I Cant Stop Loving You

Moondance (Van on sax)

Wild Night (this was a big let down, didn’t work in its arrangement, still a noble attempt)

Segued into Real Real Gone

Next was some boogie woogie kinda thing, I didn’t know it

Precious Time

Encore

And The Healing Has Begun

Gloria

Brown Eyed Girl

A really great show. The only thing was he was barking at some of the musicians and publicly humiliating them for “not keeping time”. He was like a really strict school teacher, waving his arms and pointing at them and speaking to them on mike during I believe it was And The Healing Has Begun. I’d heard he’s done this in the past, but I’ve never seen this behaviour before and it was most un-satisfying. Lets face it, he doesn’t rehearse and he does nothing but throw the band curveballs with set list changes every night. They did an outstanding job the whole show and I’m sure that drummer will not soon forget his public humiliation any time soon.

Anything but icky

The new White Stripes song "Icky Thump" is available on iTunes. It's insane. Go buy it.

- Russ

Bjork

in case u missed it, here's Bjork on Saturday Night Live

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=gQISaX5ps0k

Baseball's back!

The 2007 baseball season is upon us and it couldn't have come any sooner. It should be another big summer in New York with the Mets and Yankees geared up for another big season. Last year, the Mets and Yankees both posted the best won - loss record in baseball - 97 wins and 65 losses. Unfortunately, both teams lost in the playoffs...the Yankees going out in the first round to the eventual American League champion Detroit Tigers and the Mets taking the eventual World Champion St. Louis Cardinals to the seventh and deciding game of the National League Championship Series.

This year's regular season could be a repeat of 2006. The Mets are the premier team in the National League and the same is probably true of the Yankees in the American League. Both team's possess the strongest offenses in their respective leagues. The Mets will probably have decent to strong competition from the Atlanta Braves and the Philadelphia Phillies in the National League's East division while the Yankees' old nemesis the Boston Red Sox will be up their nose all year. The Toronto Blue Jays may make a little noise as well in the American League's East division.

Many of you know what I huge Mets fan I am! That's right, this Bronx guy is a Mets fan! I am pumped and primed for what I think will be a huge year for the Amazin's. It is also a bit of a bittersweet time for me personally because it is the next to last season that the Mets will be playing at my beloved Shea Stadium. The Mets are building a new home, and while I look forward to seeing games there, it can never replace that great horseshoe on the outskirts of Flushing Meadows - Corona Park. I love Shea. I've loved it since stepping inside for the first time in the early 1970s. I know all the bashing it has taken over the years. I know all of it's shortcomings. I know it's the sixth oldest stadium in major league baseball (behind Dodger Stadium, RFK Stadium, Yankee Stadium, Wrigley Field and Fenway Park). I've heard all of the things that are wrong with Shea. I still love it. I always will. And I also don't think it deserves the bashing it takes. There is a great history to Shea. A unique history. The Mets won and lost there in legendary ways! The Beatles played live there more than once. There were other legendary concerts as well. Pope John Paul II appeared there. The Jets played there for many years (1964-1983). Even the dreaded Yankees "soiled" Shea, calling it their temporary home!

Anyway, I got off track! The 2007 Mets, right! It'll be a big year! It's root, root, root for:
Moises Alou, Carlos Beltran, Ambiorix Burgos, Ramon Castro, Endy Chavez, Carlos Delgado, Damion Easley, Pedro Feliciano, Julio Franco, Tom Glavine, Shawn Green, Aaron Heilman, Orlando Hernandez, Paul LoDuca, John Maine, Pedro Martinez, Lastings Milledge, Guillermo Mota, David Newhan, Mike Pelfrey, Oliver Perez, Jose Reyes, Duaner Sanchez, Scott Schoeneweis, Aaron Sele, Joe Smith, Jose Valentin, Billy Wagner and David Wright. Manager Willie Randolph and his coaches Sandy Alomar, Sr., Rick Down, Guy Conti, Howard Johnson, Jerry Manuel, Tom Nieto and Rick Peterson. Oh, and Mr. Met, too!

(Many of you also know how much I hate the Yankees! So, it's Let's Go Mets and yes, the Yankees Suck!)

Darren DeVivo
4/4/07

"Metallica, don't hit your brother"

Apparently, naming your kid "Metallica" in Sweden is a problem. When Michael and Karolina Tomaro applied to have their daughter named after the legendary rock band, Sweden's tax agency rejected the name. The Swedish National Tax Board refused to register the name on the grounds that it was associated with both the rock group and the word "metal." Metallica's mom, Karolina, said Tuesday that the name suits her because, "she's decisive and she knows what she wants." Stay tuned for a final decision. A local court has ruled in favor of Metallica's parents, but the tax agency has appealed.

The Tomaros could have avoided all this hassle if they had chosen a more conventional name for their daughter. Here are the 10 most popular names for boys and girls in Sweden for 2006:

Girls________________Boys
Anthrax______________Danzig
Asia_________________Styx

Vixen________________Dokken
Mudhoney____________Bongwater
Nirvana______________GWAR
Poison_______________Mountain
Ratt_________________Uriah Heep
Tesla________________Slade
Kiss_________________Slaughter
Renaissance___________Tool